Abstract
Introduction In older patients, psychiatric illnesses frequently exist in tandem with physical illnesses, requiring nursing care that is specific to these combined care needs. The impact of caring for these patients on the mental well-being of nursing staff is unknown. AimTo investigate whether care characteristics of patients with combined care needs are related to the mental well-being of nursing staff. MethodWell-being of nursing staff was studied within a larger exploratory observational cross-sectional study that examined the differences and similarities of specialized combined care units in Dutch mental healthcare and nursing home settings. ResultsNursing staff across settings, with more than 5years of work experience, felt competent in caring for patients with combined care needs. No significant effects of care characteristics of patients with combined care needs on the work-related well-being of nursing staff were shown. Both mental health nursing staff and older employees, however, were found to be more at risk for burnout. Implications/ConclusionStaff well-being might benefit from placing patients with combined care needs together, so care is focused. The presence of specialized care units can allow for both targeted and focused allocation of nursing staff to these units and provision of specific training.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 108-118 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2018 |
Keywords
- mental health care
- nursing home care
- nursing staff
- patients with combined care needs
- work-related well-being
- SERIOUS MENTAL-ILLNESS
- PHYSICAL HEALTH-CARE
- NEUROPSYCHIATRIC INVENTORY
- BURNOUT INTERVENTIONS
- CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR
- HOME RESIDENTS
- NURSES
- DEMENTIA
- PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
- SATISFACTION